The Kampong Speu provincial administration has announced that more than 5,000 hectares of rice paddy fields in the province are affected by drought. However, authorities are pumping water into irrigation canals.
Kampong Speu provincial governor Vei Samnang said yesterday that two local farmers in Kampong Speu province were in need of assistance after their crops suffered due to drought conditions.
A a short dry period during the rainy season in July and August has caused the drought, which has affected more than 5,000 hectares of farmland. The Kampong Speu provincial authorities on Friday pumped water into canals, allowing farmers to water their dry fields, he said.
'We have no mechanism other than pumping water into the canals to restore drought-stricken rice,' he said.
Meanwhile, Kampong Thom province with more than 180,000 hectares of farmland has been spared.
Pen Vanrith, Director of Kampong Thom Provincial Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, said that the farmland in this province has not yet suffered from severe drought.
Although there was no severe drought in the province, officials are already prepared for any such occurrence and also floods, he said.
'We have made preparations and stored water throughout Kampong Thom to assist farmers when a drought occurrs,' he said.
Soth Kim Kolmony, spokesman for the National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM), said he had not yet received reports on droughts from provincial administrations across the country.
This year's forecast for rainfall is below the seasonal average and the NCDM has informed provinces across the country to be vigilant and ready to intervene since the beginning of the year.
The biggest challenge this year is the lack of water for agriculture in some areas, which, unlike last year, had more floods. The NCDM is monitoring the situation, he added.
'As a measure of our preparedness, we pump water into the irrigation canals, allowing farmers to continue growing rice. Where there is no or limited water resources, the fields experiencing drought cannot be saved,' he said.
Theng Savoeun, President of the Coalition of Cambodian Farmers' Communities (CCFC), sees the drought as a problem, which will seriously affect the livelihoods of farmers without timely intervention to save farmland.
He called on the authorities to help restore their fields affected by drought and provide them with fertiliser and rice seeds, if their crops are destroyed by drought or floods.
'We do not know exactly when drought or floods will occur, but we can prevent the effects by preparing rice seeds and other social assistance to help farmers who are experiencing difficulties,' he said.
Source: Anadolu Agency